Particularly in communications, testing newly developed products, such as exchanges, mobile-radio components (MSC, BS), or components for distributed systems (router, bridge), is becoming increasingly difficult and complex. This results from the fact that the exchange of information to be tested is governed by increasingly complex communications protocols, which are generally assigned to different layers of communciations functions. Such tests are carried out with so-called protocol testers.
The invention starts from a protocol tester as is known from a 1993 publication by Siemens AG entitled "K1197 Protocol Tester", which is obtainable under Order No. E86060-T6052-A661-A5. The protocol tester described there is designed to be connected to a test object, such as an exchange, and simulates one or two other network components, e.g., also an exchange. According to a test procedure, also called "test case", the protocol tester sends message to, and receives reply messages from, the exchange, thus simulating a particular communication situation. The test procedure is present in the form of a state machine and is generated by the tester in a programming language. The reply message received from the exchange can be output, for example, in hexadecimal or numerical form or by means of an analysis program in various other representations.
The disadvantage of a test method using such a test set is that the generation of a test case is very time-consuming, since the programming of a test case is complicated and generally requires several different utility programs. The evaluation of the test result also takes a very long time.